Yesterday morning was one of the more enjoyable ones. I woke up, made a brew, quickly whipped up some poached eggs with smoked salmon – how stereotypically middle class – and then returned to bed to watch England win the World T20 final at the MCG. It was precisely the morning I had in mind; and probably the very last thing that the tournament organisers, neutrals, and the whole of Australia were hoping for. Tee-hee. Well, England cricket tours down under usually end in disaster, so...
Well, that was easy. There were none of the usual jitters, no brainless dismissals, no worries about Duckworth Lewis, and no getting tangled up in a web of spin. England cantered over the line without breaking sweat. Imagine what the mighty Ireland might have done to India? In a way, I felt a bit sorry for Kohli and Co. After all, games like this can happen in T20. Their main sin was getting off to a slow start – understandable considering big game nerves – and thereafter they were...
They celebrated like they’d actually won the World Cup. And good on ‘em. But Ireland’s win against England on Wednesday morning neither felt as dramatic nor embarrassing as our previous losses to minnows. In fact, it all felt a bit hollow – as most victories by Duckworth Lewis tend to feel. The hardest step in sport is always the final one, when victory is dangling in front of you. And now, thanks to the Melbourne weather – honestly, does it ever stop raining in Australia? –...
So the Men’s T20 World Cup is well and truly underway and we’ve already had a couple of eyebrow raising results. Roger Moore would’ve been in his element. Firstly, Namibia absolutely obliterated a shell-shocked Sri Lanka and then Scotland, of all people, beat former champions the West Indies by a large margin, too. It just goes to show how unpredictable the T20 format can be. It’s both it’s strength and, in some ways, its weakness. Fortunately for England, however, there were no such problems...
All eyes will be on the T20 World Cup in the coming weeks. I rather fancy England to do well, especially after our two wins against the hosts in the warm-up series. However, I’m not so sure about our chances in Pakistan when the grind of Test cricket returns. It will be great to watch England play in Pakistan again. But we might have to avert our eyes if things go south quickly. After winning 6 out of 7 Tests this summer, lots of supporters seem bullish about England’s prospects in the three...
Now that the county championship has finished for another year (in depressingly autumnal conditions), it’s time to look ahead to the winter. And the very first event on England’s radar is the T20 World Cup, which starts as soon as 16th October. Can you believe it? The schedule is relentless these days. Although regular readers will know that I prefer Test cricket, I’m still partial to the odd T20 thrash-fest. It can be rather entertaining after all. Yes, it doesn’t have the same ‘ebb and flow’...
